Drive for motor vehicles



April29.,1924. 1,492,380

A.-H. LEIPERT DRIVE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Nov. 6, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet1 I V ENTOR A TTORNE Y5 April 29 1924. O 1,492,380

A. H. LEIPERT DRIVE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Nov. 6, 1922 2 Sheds-Sheet2 IIIHIIIIIII IN VEN TOR ame A r. 29, 1924.

V 1,492,380 PATENT OFFICE.

LaUsUsr E. mom, or NEW YORK, N. Y., assrono a To m'rnnnarronnn moron.

COMPANY, OFNEW YORK, N. Y.,

A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

DRIVE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

Application filed November 8, 1922. Serial No. 599,387.

a York, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Drives for Motor Vehicles, of. which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawto ings,forminga part hereof.

This invention relates to certain improvements in a rear drive operatinggenerally in accordance with the principles disclosed in Letters Patentof the Unlted States No.

1,402,301, dated January 3, 1922, and embodying all of the advantagespointed out with respect to such drives and offering, in addition,certain advantages not to be found in the particular embodimentillustrated in so said patent.

In the present invention it is proposed to provide for the operativeinterposition of a ilferential gear between the propeller shaft and eachof a plurality of differential gears as provided in, connection witheach pair of live axle sections, but, particularly, to improve the powertransmission devices between said propeller shaft and each suchdifferential gear for the live axle sections.

210 It is further proposed, in accordance with the invention to providein combination with a dead axle of the banjo type housing sections whichare carried thereby and completely incase the additionaldifl'erentialgear and so many of the separate transmission elementsassociated therewith as serve immediately to transmit power to thedifi'erent sets of live axle sections. The improved mounting and housingthus provided for permits the inclusion of a transmission shaft in linewith the propeller shaft and disposed within the banjo section of thedead axle. It also facilitates theprovision of spur reduction gearingbetween the additional difierential gear and the final drive bevelinion.

Still anot er? object of the invention, in its s ecific embodiment, isto provide in a multiple final drive double reductiongearing between theadditional differential gear and each of the differential! gears for thepairs of live axle sections.

The referred embodiment of the invention wi 1 be described withreferenceto the accompanying drawings in which:

vFigure 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in sectionshowing a tandem rear drive embodying the improvements and indicatingconventionally one of the wheels of each of a'pair of driving wheels forthe vehicle.

Figure 2 is a detail view in section on a somewhat larger scale showingthe internal construction of the housing containing the additionaldifl'erential gear and showing the double reduction drive between it andthe differential for one of the pairs of live axle sections.

In the drawings there are indicated two pairs of rear drive wheels (1,b, for a motor vehicle constituting what is termed a tandem drive. Thedead axles a, b on which these wheels are supported are of the banjotype having an enlarged mid-section of generally circular form disposedin a vertical plane. Figure 1 is a view which shows one of the banjosections a in elevation and one. of the banjo sections 5 in verticalsection. The axles are connected yieldingly by springs indicatedconventionally at 0 and the frame of the vehicle is carried on thesesprings in a conventional manner. The principal problem with which thepresent inventionis concerned is that of driving the live axle sectionsa 6 of the two sets of wheels (1, b, from the propeller shaft (Z in suchmanner that not only will each wheel of the pair be afforded the usualdifferential movement with respect to the other wheel of the pair buteach pair of wheels will be afforded a differential movement withrespect to the other pair of wheels. Stated in a different way, it isproposed to interpose a differential gear between the propeller shaft (1and each of the till of the rear pair of wheels is driven from thepropeller shaft d. The live axle sections a are driven operatively froma difierential gear indicated conventionally at a which has a ring geara by which it is driven. The differential a affords difi'erential actionbetween the live axle sections a in the usual manner. The propellershaft d carries therewith or has secured thereto a differential housingd in whichare supported a plurality of planetary pinions d revolubletherewith. These pinions mesh with bevel gears e, f, in a mannercommonly employed in differentials of this type, one of these drivinggears 6 being keyed to a drive shaft 6 which is connected operativelywith the live axle sections 5 in'a manner to be hereinafter describedand the other of said bevel gears f being carried with or otherwisesecured to a hollow shaft f through which the shaft 6 extends. Thehollow shaft f has keyed thereto a spur pinion P which is meshed with aspur gear 9 on a shaft 9' carrying a final drive bevel pinion g which ismeshed with the ring gear a on the differential a All of the partsdescribed are journaled in suitable bearings it carried within a housingsection 73 which is bolted as by bolts z" to the-banjo section of theaxle a. The through shaft 6 which is keyed to the bevel gear 0 isdisposed in prolongation of the propeller shaft d and extends throughthe banjo section a and may be journaled at its rear end by bearings 7cin a complementary housing section '5 bolted on the other side of thebanjo section a by the same bolts 71 which may extend through the banjosection. The housing formed by the two sections i, 2"", completelyincases all of the transmission elements driven from the propeller shaftd including the differential a and the double reduction gearing. Thedouble reduction gearing described is compact and effective fortransmitting the driving effort from the propeller shaftd to thedifferential at.

The manner of driving the rear pair of live axle sections 6 from thedifferential gear d will now be considered. The shaft 6 which is drivenfrom the bevel gear e of the differential d extends through the housingsection 2' and is connected to an exposed shaft section Z which may beof telescopic form. The universal joints Z, Z, may be interposed in theshaft section Z to facilitate relative movement between the two axles aand b. The shaft section Z extends into a housing section m which may bebolted onto the banjo section b of the rearmost axle and is journaled inbearings Z carried in said housing section. A spur pinion Z is keyed orotherwise secured to the shaft Z within the housing m and meshes with aspur gear n which is carried on a stub shaft n carrying a final drivebevel pinion n which meshes with a ring gear 0' carried with adifferential indicated conventionally at o and operatively interposed inthe usual way between the live axle sections b. A rear housing section mmay be bolted onto the other side of the banjo section I), through boltsserving to secure both sections m, m, to the axle in much the mannerdescribed with respect to the housing sectlons i, 11', on the otherazxle a.

Since the final drive for the differential o is effected from the shaft6' which carries one of the bevel gears e of the differential d and theother differential gear it receives its power from the other bevel gearf of said differential d it is evident that the two differentials 0 anda may have a differential movement with respect to each other, that is,with respect to the propeller shaft (1, and at the same time, each ofsaid differentials 0', a affords the usual differential movement betwenthe live axle sections 6 a driven thereby, respectively. Doublereduction of the power in the final drive is afforded by the spur andbevel gear construction described. The parts associated with each of thefinal drives at each axle are effectively housed. Power is transmittedthrough horizontal alined shafting.

What I claim is:

1. In a motor vehicle, a plurality of pairs of drive wheels, drivingaxle sections for each of the wheels, differential gearsinterposedbetween the axle sections of each'pair of wheels, a propeller shaft, adifferential gear operatively connected with the propeller shaft,shafting alined with the propeller shaft and o-peratively connected withsaid last named differential gear, and double reduction gearinginterposed between said shafting and each of said first nameddifferential gears, respectively.

2. In a motor vehicle, a plurality of pairs of drive'wheels, dead axlesections on which said wheels are carried, respectively, the axlesections carryingone of said pairs of wheels having a verticallydisposed banjo portion at its mid-section, driving axle sections foreach of the wheels, differential gears interposed between the axlesections of each pair of wheels, a propeller shaft, a second shaftdisposed in substantial alinement with said propeller shaft andextending through said banjo portion, and an op erative connectionbetween the propeller shaft and each of said differential gearsineludinga differential gear and said alined shaft.

3. In a-motor vehicle, a tandem rear drive comprising dead axles havingbanjo portions vertically disposed and on which the pairs of wheels aremounted, driving shaft sections for each of the wheels, differentialgears interposed between the shaft sections of each pair of wheels, apropeller shaft, a second, shaft disposed in substantial alinement withsaid propeller shaft and extending through one of the banjo portions ofone of the dead axles, an operative driving connection between thepropeller shaft and each of said differential gears including adifferential gear and said alined shaft, and housing sections secured tothe banjo portion of the last-named dead axle and enclosing the secondnamed differential gear and alined shafting and the driving connectionsbetween said second named differential gear and one of the first nameddifferentials driven therefrom.

4. In a motor vehicle,'a tandem rear-drive including the dead axles onwhich the pairs of wheels are mounted, driving shaft sections' for eachof the wheels, a differential gear to which each pair of shaft sectionsis connecte a bevel gear carried by each differential gear, a bevelpinion. meshing operatively with one of said bevel gears, a

. spur gear rotatable with said bevel pinion.

a spur pinion in driving engagement with said spur gear, a hollow shafton which said spur pinion is carried, a solid shaftjextending throughsaid hollow shaft and connected operatively with the other ofsaiddiiferential gears, a universal joint in said last named shaft, adifferential gear including planetary pinions, a propeller shaftconnected operatively with said planetary pinioiis and in substantialalinement with the hollow and solid shafts and two driving gears engagedby said pinions, one of said gears being connected to the said solidshaft and the other of said gears being connected to said hollow shaft,1 This specification signed this 31st day of October, A. 1922.

AUGUST H. LEIPERT.-

